I just finished
rereading Endurance by Alfred Lansing.
Endurance is the true story of Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic expedition,
which took place about a hundred years ago. The first line of the book: “The
order was given to abandon ship at 5 pm.”
Every three or four years I just feel
like reading Endurance so I do. And I totally enjoy it every time. I savor the
words and the story. And I love the characters—all twenty-eight of them.
The same is true
for Hatchet by Gary Paulsen.
And Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt.
Every
three or four years I pull them off the shelf and read them. I’m not sure why I
reread them. I’m sort of pulled toward one of them every so often; our paths
cross and we hang out for a while.
These stories are
my friends. And since I’ve changed as a person since my last read I bring a
fresh mind to a familiar story. The new things I discover may not be profound
but they sure are enjoyable, even if it’s just getting to know a character a little better
or discovering new details. Give me Endurance, Hatchet or Tuck Everlasting every
three or four years and I’m like a kid with his favorite ice cream.
Do you reread
books? Why/Why not? If you do, what are your favorite books to reread?
